Panama City
by Moon's Tear
Summary: What if Tony and Kate had met in Panama City in 1994? How would this have affected things? Tate, of course! Please review!


**Panama City**

What if Tony and Kate had met in Panama City in 1994? How would this have affected things? Tate, of course! Please review!

_A.N.: Okay, this story is written in parts. The line divider means end scene one, enter scene two, etc. Also, the quotes here are paraphrased, not directly quoted. Apologies for major mistakes, but I think I got the gist of it. _

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS, for the billionth time!

Panama City

Tony walked into the bar and immediately spotted the girl posing for the title picture of 1994 winner of the wet t-shirt contest. She was absolutely gorgeous. Her smile lit up her features and she seemed to radiate energy. Tony smiled and walked over to where she was stepping away from the drunken, jug-wielding jocks. Her long hair, now dripping wet and plastered to her face, only served to further intensify her beauty. Tony made his way through the crowd of raucous teens who were now all dancing to the latest single and walked over to her, flashing her his patented million dollar smile.

"Hey hot stuff, did it hurt?" Tony asked.

"Did what hurt?" She replied confusedly.

"When you fell from heaven," Tony said, convinced he sounded slick.

"Save the pick up lines for someone who wants to hear them. Why don't we go dance?" She suggested.

Tony smiled and followed the girl out onto the floor. They moved to the music and Tony tried to play it cool. She was so sexy and was doing a number on his hormones. After a few songs they walked over to the bar and ordered a couple of beers. Tony stared at his latest interest and was intrigued. It was the first time he had ever felt more than lust for a woman. He was actually interested in this one. Tony took a swig of his beer and broke the silence.

"So, what's your name?" He asked.

"Kate," she replied. "And yours?"

"Tony," he stated.

"Are you having fun, Tony?" Kate inquired.

"Oh, you know I am," Tony said coyly.

Kate smiled and finished her beer. A girl across the room called out to her and she stood up. Before walking away, Kate leaned in and kissed Tony hard on the lips. She pulled away, leaving him breathless and walked away with a final wink. She had haunted his mind for a long time afterward. Kate's mind was also filled with visions of Tony for a while. However, they both carried on with their lives and over the years they drove each other out of their memories to make room for newer, better things.

* * *

Kate walked into the NCIS headquarters building. She saw Gibbs standing at the front desk, waiting for her despite her being fifteen minutes early. It was her first day at NCIS and she couldn't wait to start work. She was determined not to make the same mistake that she had made with the secret service. Kate approached Gibbs and greeted him.

"Good morning, agent Gibbs," Kate said politely.

"Agent Todd, good of you to arrive. Why don't we go upstairs so I can show you where you'll be working while you are with NCIS," Gibbs suggested.

Kate nodded and followed him into the elevator. They went up to the bullpen and Gibbs led Kate over to her desk. She dropped her things on it and turned back to face Gibbs.

"This is your desk. You have everything you'll need including your phone, computer, filing space and you'll find your SIG Sauer in the top right hand cabinet of your desk. Never leave the office without your weapon, agent Todd," Gibbs instructed.

Kate nodded again and began to organize her desk. Soon after she had begun to file her things away, another member of the team arrived.

"Morning boss," Tony said lightly.

"You're late, DiNozzo," Gibbs growled.

"I got caught in traffic. Oh, who is this?" Tony inquired, spotting Kate.

Kate looked up and smiled lightly.

"DiNozzo, this is Kate Todd, the newest member of our team. Agent Todd, this is Tony DiNozzo. I'm going to get more coffee, I want you two to get yourselves acquainted," Gibbs stated.

"Yes, boss," Tony replied.

Gibbs left the bullpen and Kate stared at Tony. He stared right back at her, feeling intrigued. He remembered only one other time he had ever been intrigued by a woman. Neither of them could place where they had seen each other before. After a long moment filled with a terse silence, Kate spoke up.

"He seems like a bit of a tyrant," she said quietly, relating to Gibbs.

"You'll get used to it. Don't feel bad if he doesn't like you much at first. I've been here for over a year and he still doesn't like me too much," Tony admitted.

Kate laughed and looked at Tony through objective eyes. She felt like she had met him somewhere before, but her mind never made the connection. Apparently, neither did his. They quietly went about their morning business until Gibbs returned. Kate's first day went by quickly.

* * *

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months and before Kate knew it the team dynamics had changed. McGee had joined the squad and she had grown close with Abby. It was then that they got the call. A young female petty officer had been murdered behind the scenes at a local bikini contest. Kate closed her eyes when she heard the news. Tony would have a field day.

They headed out to the scene and Kate reminisced about her younger days. She had once been a confident, outgoing junior with a penchant for getting into situations revolving around her looks. She had since realized that the only way she would ever get ahead in the world would be to put her looks behind her and carry herself with dignity. However, she found that to be difficult when she was around Tony. The man made her feel like she was nineteen again. One of these days Kate's once happy go lucky days would come back to haunt her and Tony would never let her live it down. In the meantime, however, she decided to keep her head in the game.

Tony looked around and grinned widely as he reveled in the fact that spring break was coming soon. In a week he would be with his old frat buddies drinking beer and drowning in hot chicks. It was all he could do to keep from doing a happy dance. He stared at Kate and wondered if she had ever had the young blood in her veins. He wondered if she had ever let her hair down and had some fun. No, it was impossible. She was good old, stick in the mud Kate. She would never go for that sort of thing.

They spent a couple of hours at the scene, collecting evidence and statements, before returning to NCIS to see what could be done with what they had gathered. As they worked the time seemed to snail by. Kate finally gave up typing and instead eavesdropped in on the last few seconds of Tony's conversation. He had just booked a hotel room for spring break with his buddies in Panama City. Kate shook her head in disbelief and glared at him.

"Don't you think you're a little old for spring break, Tony?" Kate inquired incredulously.

"Nah, I'll never be too old for spring break," Tony replied.

Kate rolled her eyes and turned away.

"Don't tell me you've never been away on spring break," Tony began.

"I have, actually. Panama City with a couple of girlfriends in my junior year. We, however, managed to maintain our dignity, not like those girls that you undoubtedly hang out with," Kate replied.

"Right, dignity," Tony said sarcastically.

Kate ignored him and continued to work.

Soon a week had passed and the case had been solved. What kind of a world is it when people are murdered by their best friends? Kate tidied up around her desk before her week off for spring break. She watched Tony as he danced around happily, gathering all of his possessions before leaving for Panama City for a week. Kate wished she still had it in her to be so carefree. However, the years had shaped her into who she was and she couldn't change that.

"See you in a week, Kate! I'm off to Panama City!" Tony rejoiced.

Kate glared in response and watched as he did his little happy dance all the way to the elevator and undoubtedly to his car in the parking lot. While Tony was out reliving his college days with all his old friends, Kate would be at home catching up on reading and doing mundane, everyday chores that couldn't be avoided. She sighed and finished packing up her stuff so she could get on with being miserable at home.

* * *

Tony barely heard the wild cheers and shouts around him as he bonged the last of the beer his buddies were pouring into the funnel. He stood up and swayed slightly. He couldn't stop grinning as he walked through the crowd of spectators. He was surrounded by gorgeous women but he found himself not looking at them nearly as hungrily as he would have Kate. Tony walked along happily and commented at random.

"You're pretty and you're pretty and I'm pretty," Tony said drunkenly.

He laughed as he stumbled along down the hallway. Tony stopped in front of a wall mount of pictures from previous years' wet t-shirt contests. He looked at all of the girls and didn't even try not to drool over them. He scanned over the rows and was about to walk away when he did a double take. Tony looked closer at the picture from 1994. He thought back to that year and almost fainted when he realized who the woman was and where he had seen Kate before. Tony began to laugh manically before he walked away.

* * *

The team returned from spring break either well rested, overworked or partied out, depending on who you asked. Kate sat down behind her desk and immediately began to catch up on paperwork left over from before the break. Tony strode into the bullpen carrying coffee and wearing a smirk that Kate had never seen before. It suggested something more than his usual 'I got laid' grins. No, there was something sinister behind those eyes. Kate looked up at him quizzically.

"Good morning Katie," Tony said excitedly.

"Okay, I give up. What gives, Tony?" Kate asked bluntly.

"Well, I just had the best spring break of my life and I've figured it out," Tony replied.

"Figure what out, DiNozzo?" Kate inquired.

"Where I recognized you from," Tony stated.

Something snapped in Kate's brain. So it wasn't just her being paranoid. She really had met Tony somewhere before. Now the question was, where? She knew that this had something to do with Tony's spring break, but what could he possibly have on her?

"Where, Tony? Where do you know me from?" Kate asked.

"Do you remember what you did for spring break in 1994?" Tony queried.

"Vaguely," Kate replied hesitantly.

She still wasn't seeing his point.

"Well, I remember," Tony said happily.

Great, she thought, he was going to hold this over her head.

"What did I do during spring break of 1994?" Kate inquired.

She thought hard and racked her brain only to come up with one answer. She remembered that being the year she spent in Panama City with her sorority sisters. Kate vaguely remembered waking up one morning and not remembering the previous night. Oh, no. What had Tony found out? Kate braced herself for his revelation. Tony grinned at her and pulled out his cell phone. He flipped through his photo files until he found what he was looking for. Handing the phone to Kate he waited for the scream.

Kate stared at the picture in horror. So that was what had happened. Kate grimaced at her image and wished that she could just melt into the floor. Her cheeks turned bright red and she remembered meeting Tony at the club. She remembered the dancing, the pick up lines and the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about him for the longest time after that. This was definitely going to haunt her. She handed the phone back to Tony and turned around, still blushing furiously. Tony took the phone, deleted the picture and put it away. He wanted Kate to believe that she was safe. What she didn't know was that he had already downloaded the pictures onto his laptop. Tony put a hand on Kate's shoulder and turned her around to face him.

"It's not all bad, Kate. I mean, I still remember that night. Sure, I forgot it for a while but when I saw that picture everything came flooding back. The feelings, the atmosphere, the memories and most of all, the fact that I hadn't stopped thinking about you for the next few months. You had left a mark that I couldn't erase," Tony said sincerely. "Don't you see, Kate, you're different from any other woman I've ever met and that's something that you can't run or hide from."

Kate looked at Tony in disbelief. She couldn't accept the fact that Tony had pegged her feelings down exactly. The memories came flooding back to her, too, and she realized that Tony was right. Nothing had changed. From what she remembered, this was the same man she had fallen for that night almost eleven years prior. Tony stared back at her and realized that he had fallen even more in love with her since that night. Kate took a deep, shuddering breath and stepped away from Tony. The distancing proved futile in controlling her emotions and rocketing vitals but at least she could think. Tony looked at her and she could see the confusion in his eyes. Kate didn't know what to do. She didn't want him to feel hurt but she didn't want him to get any ideas, either. There was only one way to solve this whole mess. Just that moment, Gibbs walked into the bullpen.

"Gibbs, Tony and I are going out to grab some coffee," Kate insisted.

"Make sure you bring some back for me," Gibbs replied.

"Me too," McGee piped up.

Kate nodded and turned to leave with Tony hot on her heels. Once they were outside in the warm spring sunlight Kate finally broke the tense silence.

"You know, I thought about you a lot after that night, too. I couldn't get you out of my mind. Your eyes, particularly your smile. I wondered what it would have been like if we could have spent more time together. I guess now that we have all the time in the world I'm scared," Kate explained.

"What are you scared of, Kate?" Tony asked.

"Now that I know what your relationships consist of I'm not sure I want to get into that," Kate said lightly.

"Kate, I know that I don't exactly have the greatest track record when it comes to relationships, but I promise that with you, things would be different. You held my attention like no other woman ever has. I think that I could give you something that I couldn't give anyone else and I think the same is true for you," Tony replied.

Kate was silent for a moment. She stared down at her feet as they walked. A moment later she stopped and turned to face Tony. Kate gripped his arm and pulled him closer.

"Do you really mean that, Tony? Because if you're just saying that…" Kate began.

Tony put a finger on her lips to silence her.

"Shush, Kate. I meant every word," Tony said sincerely.

Tears welled up in Kate's eyes and she figured that words wouldn't be enough to get across what she wanted to say. Instead, Kate stood on her tiptoes and caught Tony's slightly parted lips with her own. Tony reveled in the warmth of Kate's lips and deepened the kiss. He explored the curvature of her lips with his own lips and ran his tongue along her bottom lip. Kate willingly parted her lips and allowed Tony to explore the recesses of her mouth. They pulled apart, breathless from the passion. Tony wrapped his arms around Kate's waist for which she was grateful. She was sure she would have fallen over if he hadn't done so. After a few minutes they pulled apart and walked off down the street to DC Beans, hand in hand.

It was almost like serendipity.

* * *

_A.N.: I couldn't help myself. After seeing that episode I had to write this. I got about a quarter of the way into it and almost deleted it, deciding that I hated it, but, then I thought of all the Tate shippers out there and decided to go on, for you guys. Tell me what you think! Thanks again for reading! -Julia-_


End file.
